San Francisco dramatic review (1899)

July 9, 1910 THE SAN FRANCISCO DRAMATIC REVIEW Margaret Oswald Tells of Honolulu In speaking' of my trip to the Orient I cannot help hut repeat Miss Margaret Anglin's sentiment regarding Honolulu: "It is truly the garden spot of the earth," and is rightly named the "Paradise of the Pacific." In approaching I lonolulu w ith my company I did so with a feeling of apprehension and delight — apprehension as to whether the people of the island wouldSfeppreciate highclass dramatic productions and delight at having the opportunity of playing hefore an audience composed of 62 varieties of nationalities. And J can assure you that it was a great pleasure to myself and my company to realize that we met with phenomenal success both artistically and financially, playing as we did for 15 weeks to almost capacity business at every performance. The newspapers treated us beautifully, and the hospitality of the Hawaiians is beyond description. The Sunday following our first performance Mr. McKae, my manager, was met by a number of the leading citizens, who insisted on his arranging for myself and company to accompany them on a 94-mile automobile ride around the island of Oahu. To describe ' lie beauties of this wondci cui rde would occupy almost every page of your valuable paper. 1 can now easily forget every other automobile ride that I ever took. W e were all so elated over our trip around the island of Oahu that Mr. McRae decided to take the company on a visit to the other islands, three in number, toward the end of our engagement at Honolulu. The necessarybookings were made and we left the city one morning on the steamer Mann Kea, amid a shower of lias, made up of almost every flower imaginable, the native band playing Aloaha ( )e (which, interpreted, means Farewell, I Love You). Our first stop was Hilo, on the island of Hawaii. Hilo is a picturesque little town, situated on the beautiful crescent bay of Hilo, and most inviting in its freshness. Tropical foliage is here at its brightest, and is most effectively luxuriant ; cocoanut and banana and royal palm and flowers all are mingled in a mass of foliage that sems to cover the city. W e closed our four days' engagement there with the glorious anticipation of visiting the wonder of the Pacific, the active volcano of Kilauea. We left the Hilo Hotel early Sunday morning in six automobiles, and rode for three hours on a roadbed of solid lava, arched with royal palms. We arrived at the Volcano House, where we enjoyed a most sumptuous dinner, prepared for us by the prominent sugar plantation owners of the island, and after lunch we arranged for clothing and mules to visit the volcano. To describe the wonders of this great caldron would be impossible ; here eternal fires glow and throb in a pit 1000 feet or more in diameter. I was so enchanted by the scene that I persuaded Mr. McRae and some of the more enthusiastic members of the company to remain with me on the edge of the crater until the wee sma hours of the morning. Most of the company rode back on the mules and horses provided us, but I myself walked the entire distance of three miles over lava beds and up the sides of craigs and mountains back to the Volcano House. We next visited the island of Maui, where we played two nights in W'ailuku. a picturesque little place, situated at the mouth of the famous tao Valley, better known as the Yosemite of Hawaii, overshadowed by Haleakala (The Mouse of the Sun), the largest extinct volcano in the world, of which it has been said a city of 300.000 people could be built on the floor of its crater. At W'ailuku we were given a lieu (a native feast), and here the proverbial hospitality of the Hawaiians was clearly demonstrated. It was a feast "tit for the gods," composed exclusively of native dishes, which were all cooked under ground and which were most palatable. From W'ailuku we drove 36 miles in automobiles, through pineapple and sugar plantations, to the town of Lahaina ; here w e were giv en the church to play in: the plantation owners built us a stage, furnished us with the necessary equipment and two special trains to bring the natives to see our performance. From there we caught the steamer back to Honolulu, after two weeks of the most delightful outing any of us had ever experienced. In conclusion I may add that the people of the Hawaiian Islands received my company and myself with such beautiful enthusiasm and gave us such a delightful time that upon the urgent recpiest of some of the most prominent citizens Mr. McRae has arranged to play a return (late of four weeks on our trip around the world, which begins next ( )ctober. Winch Pulls Off Another Advertising Stunt Ever since he pulled off the Sioux dog dinner in Xew York City, when the' Wild W est and Far East combination was playing at Madison Square Garden, Frank W inch has been itching to give something still smarter and just as sensational in the food publicity line. Recently' at the Scranton avenue show grounds in Cleveland, and w ith the aid of the Cingalese contingent of the Buffalo Mill aggregation of inspiring and instructive— darn this press agent stuff, anyhow; one can't get it out of his" mind once he has read it. We'll try it again. W ith the help of the Cingalese and a dozen Cleveland newspaper men, invited guests and also victims, Winch got it out of his system and into theirs. That dinner w ill linger long after the comet has been forgotten, with those present. So hard to get rid of the taste, you know. The guests were seated in the big cook and dining tent at the first table, where Buffalo Bill, Pawnee Rill, Dr. W . J. Hayes and the other big guns of the show dine. The Cingalese — little brown, wiry and smiling-faced men with childlike countenances and dressed in the queer garb of their native country, 12,000 miles distant — were seated with their guests, and their chief, all smiles, was at the head of the table. The invited guests, already uneasy as they watched the queer dishes coming on, were thrown into a panic when Dr. I layes, the show physician and surgeon, former Clevelander and student at St. Ignatius' College, and son of General Jack Hayes, U. S. A., retired, sat down with his medical chest by his side. It was explained, however, that the doctor, having about 1,000 show people to look after, has to be ready at all times for emergency calls. A horse might kick an attendant, one of the Sioux chiefs might swallow his chewing gum, or some fool stranger might ask at the ticket wagon if it was going to rain. The fact, too, that a large number of Arabs, Dahomans, Mexicans. Cossacks, cowboys. Indians and the like stood at the dining tent openings eagerly watching, also made the guests uneasy. The memory of that Xew Vork dog feast was prominent, too. Also Colonel Cody had declined to come to the Cingalese dinner, as he said he did not want to retire sooner than the date he had set. Pawnee Hill had also said "Not me." Winch, the press agent and former San Francisco city editor, explained that the foodstuffs were merely a concoction of chicken and mutton with string beans, rice and queer spices. Honestly, though, the stuff tasted like its basic ingredients were eat, hyena and comet meat, with a gravy over it of red paint, mixed with phosphate and dockweeds. ( Hherwise the dinner was a very quiet affair, barring W inch's $18,000 diamond ring. Haverly's Widow is Dead XFW YORK, July 4.— Mrs. "Jack" Haverly. widow o* the minstrel "king," died early this morning in a private sanitarium at 229 W est 123rd street. She had been ill more than a year following an operation for cancer. Since her husband died in 1901, Mrs. Haverly has had a hard struggle for existence. Her husband's fortune was wiped out in speculative mining ventures, in which he lost over $1,000,000. The widow and her daughter Ida were left penniless. Undaunted by her misfortune, she began the struggle which sustained her until she died. She sold cosmetics to the theatrical profession and was ever welcome in the dressing room and behind the scenes. Through the generosity of the managers and the stars she was able to support herself and her daughter from her sales. Mrs. Haverly will be buried by the theatrical profession. Collier Marries His Wife Again OAKLAXl). July 5. — A wedding took place this afternoon at the Hotel Metropole, and W illiam Collier, now appearing in Oakland, was married to his wife, Mrs. Paula Marr Collier. According to Collier, the ceremony was performed as a means of precaution, but the circumstances surrounding the case are rather complex and are apt to be confusing. It seems that on May loth of this year ('oilier was married to Paula Marr Gall, a member of his present company in Davenport, Iowa. The ceremony was a church affair and perfectly legal in every respect, but as his wife had been divorced from her first husband, to whom she had been married, when only 16 years of age, both were under the impression that it would be best to have a second ceremony performed by the civil au thorities to insure them against any attempt that might be made by the divorced Call. W ith this end in mind. Collier secured a marriage license this morning, and at 3 o'clock this afternoon Judge James < I. Ouinn for a second time made Collier and Mrs. Collier man and wife. In everyday life Collier is known as Wm. II. Morcnus, while his bride's true name before the first ceremony was Mrs. Paula Marr Gall. Collier did not care to talk much when seen today, declaring that the matter was not one of interest to anyone but himself and wife. Caruso Says He is Most Uuhappy PARIS, July 1.— Signor Caruso, who is in Paris for the season of Italian opera which was given by the Xew York Metropolitan ( )pera Company at the Chatelet Theatre, has confided to a friend the sorrows of a tenor. He complains that he is weighted down by the burden of his famous name. "When I was unknown," he says, "I sang like a singing bird, careless, without thought of nerves. But now my reputation is made my audiences are more exacting. Here I am today bending beneath the weight of a renown which cannot increase, but which the least vocal mishap may compromise. My audiences, well disposed toward me as they are, have to pay such high prices to hear me that they imagine I am a unique singer, and I appear before them stared at and envied. Imagine my state of mind when the curtain rises, for the human voice has its weaknesses. Like every one, I have my cares and troubles, and climate and temperature affect me; but the public never thinks of that, demanding an artist as perfect as they imagine me to be. That is why often I am the unhappiest of men." Spotlights Mrs. Leslie Carter has signed contracts with John Cort whereby the actress will be starred under Cort's management for a period of five years. Mrs. Carter will be presented the coming season in a new play by Rupert Hughes. This play is said to be of exceptionally good construction and pleases the former Belasco star much better than anything she has had in several years. The principal role is absolutely to her liking, as it affords unusual opportunity for Mrs. Carter's particular style of emotional acting. John Cort has the reputation of being an extravagant producer; he wants everything of the best. Mrs. Carter is a stickler on detail, and as the scenes in the play call for elaborate settings much is to be expected of the production. Mrs. Carter's season will open early in October. Later in that month she will begin an extended New York engagement. Rose Stahl will make a crosscountry tour with her great success. The Chorus Lady, prior to her New York appearance in a new play now being prepared for her. Henry W. Savage's production of the notable European and American success. Madame X, is to be seen at the Columbia Theatre in the fall.